Defining yourself by who you surround yourself with

As a kid I remember my parents, grandparents, other kids' parents and generally every adult basing at least a small part of their opinion of another kid by 'who he surrounds himself with'. It's a strange thing to me that people would say 'i dont know this person too well so im going just tell you what i think of people they say they like'.

Recently i was around a cousin of mine who is now just becoming old enough to really be considered a 'conscious' person. i heard family members talking about how she has 'gotten better' and 'grown up to be better'. No fucking shit!?!? adults seem to love to evaluate kids and then be shocked when they are wrong. who i am at age 10 has nothing to do with who i am at age 14 or 18. who a kid is one day can change at any time!

I remember even feeling like I had to make sure not to ever screw up. i knew i was gonna do some dumb things but i figured that was about all i was allowed. i often find myself doing things that get me into trouble by accident. if i ever had a chance to do anymore i would but i figured i didnt. All i could do was try to be perfect all the time to make up for my mistakes. sounds a lot like being catholic, but it also applies to jews.

I also couldnt have my friends screwing up. i had enough to worry about with my own problems and i couldnt be taking on others'. so i have always tried to pick my friends wisely. i want to be around people that not only do adults like but also the kids. i assumed that other kids were like adults. whats funny is that their not and only today am i finally old enough that the other 'kids' are actually adults.

More than even friends we truely define ourself with who we choose to date at any time.